Villa manager Lambert was a good night's sleep and believes his players can
put recent worries behind them with a rare league win over Arsenal

Paul Lambert has endured another week of sleepless nights and has challenged Aston Villa to ease the tension by completing a double over Arsène Wenger.

Lambert is under increasing pressure after an alarming run, including Villa’s humiliating FA Cup exit against Sheffield United last weekend, and faces Arsenal on Monday night in another huge test for his injury-ravaged squad.

Villa’s problems are in stark contrast to the opening day of the season when they stunned Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, with their 3-1 win achieved in a mutinous atmosphere as Wenger was subjected to chants criticising the club’s transfer policy.

Wenger’s future also appeared uncertain yet two weeks later Arsenal smashed their transfer record to sign Mesut Özil and have lost two league games since that nightmare start.

Villa now appear set for another grim relegation battle, with their manager under fire from a growing number of supporters, and Lambert has told his players to prove their win in August was no fluke.

“We’ve been knocked out the FA Cup, there’s no getting away from that, but the Arsenal game might be a good one for us because nobody expects us to get anything,” he said.

“The opportunity is there to go and win a second game against them. In the back of their mind they’ve done it once, they know how hard they worked to do it then and they’ve got to go and try and do it again.

"Everything went for us on that day when we beat them. When I heard the stick he’d taken after that game I’m pretty sure he’s laughing about it now.”

Villa are five points adrift of the relegation zone but Lambert retains the support of chairman Randy Lerner. He has also been assured of funds in the January transfer window but admits he will never take Lerner’s loyalty for granted.

“I never stop worrying. I’m not immune from it. The relationship with me and Randy is what it is, but you’re never immune from anything,” he said.

“There’s no secret formula, you keep going. You don’t lose your focus on what you’re trying to do and I’ll never waver from it.

“After losing to Sheffield United it’s not been a good week. You don’t sleep great, you don’t eat great but that’s the life of a football manager.

“If the team is not performing you expect people to vent their frustration. That’s normal. You’re hoping on Monday they’ll be right behind us.”